Blue
by jadewaters
Summary: A brief look into moments of Root's life and how it leads her to cross paths with Shaw.


Age 4

The sun's golden light spreads everywhere and it casts an almost angelic glow around her. It's warm, the kind of warm that settles in your bones. Even without the cooling touch of a light breeze the warmth feels good. It rarely feels like this in the summer, especially here. The Texas heat can be fiercely cruel but not today. Today it is kind and your mother decides to spend the last few hours of the afternoon on the porch. Her delicate hands stroke your hair as you sit on her lap. You're asking question after question about anything you can think of and she answers each question with the patience of a saint. After several rounds of your q and a she begins to ask her own simpler questions.

"What is your favourite colour Samantha?"

"Blue! I told you this before ma did you forget"

She laughs and it fills you up. You love making her laugh

"No hun, I just wanted you to remind me"

You smile and it's hidden by her shoulder as you sink further into her. Her scent wrapping around you like an invisible blanket. When you are older and she only ever smells of alcohol and cigarettes you remember her smelling like this, of lavender and vanilla

Age 9

Mrs. Stella is very pretty and you are interested in everything she says. She teaches you art, a class you really enjoy. One day you're mixing colours on your palette and she hovers by you to watch. You're very aware of her presence and the extra attention thrills you. While mixing the blues she asks if you've heard of a man named Yves Klein before. You say you haven't so she tells you about him, how he was a french artist who developed his own shade of blue called International Klein Blue.

"Would you like to see sweetie"

"Yes!" You blurt out. Without further prompting she goes to pull a shade card from beneath her desk and brings it to you with the sweetest smile you've ever seen.

"Here" She points to a square in the middle of the card. It sits right next to a sea of different shades of blue, all beautiful in their own right, but you think this might be your favourite of them all.

Over the summer you paint and you paint some more. By the time school reopens you have an entire booklet to show Mrs Stella, but shes not at the school. You ask one of the boring teachers where she is and with a deep sigh they says she no longer teaches here. Budget cuts they say. You think you understand what that means but you begin to understand heartbreak a little more.

Age 14

You've made a friend. For the first time in your life you have a real friend. Her name is Hanna. She's kind of bossy and has really pretty eyes and she is your best friend. Everyday after school you ride your bikes to her house and for your fourteenth birthday she gets you a sweater and scarf with matching gloves.

"Your old ones were looking pretty worn out" she says nonchalantly.

The sweater is black. It feels soft and warm in your hands but the scarf and matching gloves grab your attention. They're both a brilliant shade of blue you'd recognise anywhere.

"That's your favourite colour right. International blue or something"

You nod, caught off guard by how much this means to you. It doesn't feel like charity. Any other day you'd refuse something like this and that's the best thing about birthdays for you. Gifts don't feel like a handout, they feel kind of like appreciation.

Although you haven't been able to buy her gifts as nice for her birthdays (you try and save up money but it never works out) in the end she says it's okay and accepts whatever you've managed to make for her with a small smile. It's only when she's brutally taken away that you find a worthy gift in avenging her death.

Except she isn't there to see it and smile.

Age 34

It's been 2 decades since you first stepped into the criminal world. You've dabbled in quite a bit, tried a few different things but it didn't take you long to find your niche. At first glance theft may not have interested you but it suits you well and it pays even better. Travelling around the world as an art thief with the occasional jewellery heist has proven to be both exciting and challenging. You've got the computer skills to hack any security system, the reconnaissance skills to pull anything off, not to mention you're good on your feet, and with a gun. Simply put you're the best of the best so even though law enforcement has been on your tail you're still in high demand. Which is why tonight you're operating out of home-base New York City.

Someone very rich has entrusted you to secure Blue Monochrome by Yves Klein from the Museum of Modern Art. Perhaps you should have refused to steal the painting of your favourite colour, on principle, but you couldn't think of any. And maybe stealing the painting of your favourite colour should feel more special, but it doesn't, not until she walks in.

"FBI drop the painting and slowly put your hands behind your head"

You've been caught. It takes a second for that to sink in but once it does a strange sense of calm takes over.

Quickly you take the FBI agent in. She's short, brown hair, intense eyes, defined cheekbones. She's beautiful and she's pointing a gun at you.

"Well hello to you too"

"FBI drop the painting. I won't ask again"

"I'm sorry I can't do that, but it's nice isn't it"

"A real sight for sore eyes" the sarcasm in her tone bringing a genuine smile to your lips.

"I'm Root, what's your name sweetie"

The agent scoffs "How about I tell _after_ you surrender"

"No can do. I like being a free woman"

The FBI agent steps in closer, her gun levelled at your head but you aren't worried. Throughout this brief exchange you've slowly been reaching for the smoke bomb attached to your belt. The painting providing enough coverage to obscure her line of vision.

"For a woman who says she likes being free this isn't exactly convincing behaviour". Again you're smiling and you get one last good look at her before you throw the bomb in her direction.

Smoke fills the entire space and you make a run for it. Blue monochrome still in hand.

* * *

After delivering the painting and collecting your pay, you settle in to search the FBI database. Immediately you look through members of the art crime task force and there she is.

Special agent Sameen Shaw.

You wonder what kind of trouble she'll bring. For some reason you can't wait to find out.


End file.
